The invention relates generally to systems and methods for programming, tracking and recording data from electronic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for programming, tracking and recording data from medical devices, and especially implantable medical devices (IMDs).
Medical devices, specifically IMDs, are commonly used today to treat patients suffering from various ailments, including by way of example, pain, incontinence, movement disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and spasticity. Additional IMD therapies appear promising to treat a variety of other medical conditions, including physiological, psychological, and emotional conditions. As the number of IMD therapies increases, so do the demands placed on these medical devices.
Known IMDs, such as, cardiac pacemakers, tachyarrhythmia control devices, drug delivery devices, and nerve stimulators, provide treatment therapy to various portions of the body. While the present invention may be used with various medical devices, by way of example and illustration, an implantable pulse generator (IPG) device will be discussed to illustrate the advantages of the invention. In the case of providing electrical stimulation to a patient, an IPG is implanted within the body. The IPG is coupled to one or more electrodes to deliver electrical stimulation to select portions of the patient's body. Neuromuscular stimulation (the electrical excitation of nerves and/or muscle to directly elicit the contraction of muscles) and neuromodulation stimulation (the electrical excitation of nerves, often afferent nerves, to indirectly affect the stability or performance of a physiological system) and brain stimulation (the stimulation of cerebral or other central nervous system tissue) can provide functional and/or therapeutic outcomes.
There exist both external and implantable devices for providing beneficial results in diverse therapeutic and functional restorations indications. The operation of these devices typically includes the use of an electrode placed either on the external surface of the skin, a vaginal or anal electrode, or a surgically implanted electrode. Implantable medical devices may be programmable and/or rechargeable, and the devices may log data, which are representative of the operating characteristics over a length of time. While existing systems and methods provide the capability of programming or recharging IMDs, many limitations and issues still remain.
Implantable devices have provided an improvement in the portability of neurological stimulation devices, but there remains the need for continued improvement in the programming and data management related to such devices. Medical devices are often controlled using microprocessors with resident operating system software. This operating system software may be further broken down into subgroups including system software and application software. The system software controls the operation of the medical device while the application software interacts with the system software to instruct the system software on what actions to take to control the medical device based upon the actual application of the medical device.
As the diverse therapeutic and functional uses of IMDs increase, and become more complex, system software having a versatile interface is needed to play an increasingly important role. This interface allows the system software to remain generally consistent based upon the particular medical device, and allows the application software to vary greatly depending upon the particular application. As long as the application software is written so it can interact with the interface, and in turn the system software, the particular medical device can be used in a wide variety of applications with only changes to application specific software. This allows a platform device to be manufactured in large, more cost effective quantities, with application specific customization occurring at a later time.
While handheld programmers are generally known in the art, there exist many gaps in the methods for programming and tracking specific system or patient data related to medical devices, especially those of the implanted type. Specifically, the art is lacking cohesive systems and methods for programming medical devices, logging medical device and patient data, recharging portable control devices and providing hard copies of information, such as patient or system information.